• BMB Reports
• /
• v.38 no.6
• /
• pp.633-638
• /
• 2005

Biosynthesis of prostanoids is regulated by three sequential enzymatic steps, namely phospholipase $A_2$ enzymes, cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes, and various lineage-specific terminal prostanoid synthases. Prostaglandin E synthase (PGES), which isomerizes COX-derived $PGH_2$ specifically to $PGE_2$, occurs in multiple forms with distinct enzymatic properties, expressions, localizations and functions. Two of them are membrane-bound enzymes and have been designated as mPGES-1 and mPGES-2. mPGES-1 is a perinuclear protein that is markedly induced by proinflammatory stimuli, is down-regulated by anti inflammatory glucocorticoids, and is functionally coupled with COX-2 in marked preference to COX-1. Recent gene targeting studies of mPGES-1 have revealed that this enzyme represents a novel target for anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer drugs. mPGES-2 is synthesized as a Golgi membrane-associated protein, and the proteolytic removal of the N-terminal hydrophobic domain leads to the formation of a mature cytosolic enzyme. This enzyme is rather constitutively expressed in various cells and tissues and is functionally coupled with both COX-1 and COX-2. Cytosolic PGES (cPGES) is constitutively expressed in a wide variety of cells and is functionally linked to COX-1 to promote immediate $PGE_2$ production. This review highlights the latest understanding of the expression, regulation and functions of these three PGES enzymes.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.19 no.10
• /
• pp.1092-1097
• /
• 2009

A novel exopolysaccharide named Ebosin was produced by Streptomyces sp. 139, with medicinal activity. Its biosynthesis gene cluster (ste) has been previously identified. For the functional study of the ste7 gene in Ebosin biosynthesis, it was disrupted with a double crossover via homologous recombination. The monosaccharide composition of EPS-7m produced by the mutant strain Streptomyces sp. 139 ($ste7^-$) was found altered from that of Ebosin, with fucose decreasing remarkably. For biochemical characterization of Ste7, the ste7 gene was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21. With a continuous coupled spectrophotometric assay, Ste7 was demonstrated to have the ability of catalyzing the transfer of fucose specifically from GDP-$\beta$-L-fucose to a fucose acceptor, the lipid carrier located in the cytoplasmic membrane of Streptomyces sp. 139 ($ste7^-$). Therefore, the ste7 gene has been identified to code for a fucosyltransferase, which plays an essential role in the formation of repeating sugars units during Ebosin biosynthesis.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
• /
• 1996.11a
• /
• pp.65-73
• /
• 1996

LPS/LOS, the compound found only in gram-negative bacterial outer membrane, plays important roles in bacterial maintenance as well as its pathogenesis. We isolated and characterized several genes required for NTHi 2019 LOS biosynthesis, which encode enzymes required for sugar substrate synthesis or the transfer of substrates to receptor molecules. The htrB gene, however, appears to have more complex role. It has acryltransferase activity as well as various other activity, which may control regulation of LOS biosynthesis as well as its pathogenicity. Evidences supporting the latter come from the observations that the lipid A of the B29 induced significantly less TNF ${\alpha}$ from macrophages than that of the wild type LOS (unpublished data). H. influenzae A2-htrB mutant strain was also significantly less invasive than the wild type strain. The structural similarities of the enterobacterial LPS and the Haemophilus LOS enabled us to isolate the NTHi 2019 genes involved in LOS biosynthesis genes by using the S. typhimurium LPS deep core mutants. While a similar approach has been used for E. coli, this technique for selection of an LPS phenotype has not been applied to nonenterobacterial species. The difficulties inherent in the molecular manipulation of organism such as Neisseria and Haemophilus species make this approach particularly attractive in the identification and cloning LOS genes. Studies on genetic features of LPS/LOS biosynthesis would be useful for understanding bacterial pathogenesis as well as for developing vaccines for these gram-negative pathogenic bacteria.

• Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.43 no.3
• /
• pp.266-271
• /
• 2005

In eukaryotic cells, various proteins are anchored to the plasma membrane through glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI). To study the biosynthetic pathways and modifications of GPI, various mutant cells have been isolated from the cells of Chinese hamster ovaries (CHO) supplemented with several exogenous genes involved in GPI biosynthesis using aerolysin, a toxin secreted from gram-negative bacterium Aeromonas hydrophila. Alpha toxin from Gram-positive bacterium Clostridium septicum is homologous to large lobes (LL) of aerolysin, binds GPI-anchored proteins and possesses a cell-destroying mechanism similar to aerolysin. Here, to determine whether alpha toxins can be used as an isolation tool of GPI-mutants, like aerolysin, CHO cells stably transfected with several exogenous genes involved in GPI biosynthesis were chemically mutagenized and cultured in a medium containing alpha toxins. We isolated six mutants highly resistant to alpha toxins and deficient in GPI biosynthesis. By genetic complementation, we determined that one mutant cell was defective of the second subunit of dolichol phosphate mannose synthase (DPM2) and other five cells were of a putative catalytic subunit of inositol acyltransferase (PIG-W). Therefore, C. septicum alpha toxins are a useful screening probe for the isolation of various GPI-mutant cells.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.189-194
• /
• 2003

The effects of prochloraz on membrane permeability and germination of uredospores of Puccinia recondita were investigated to determine its potential mode of action on wheat leaf rust control activity. Disease control activity of ergosterol biosynthesis inhibitors (EBIs) and their activities on uredospore membrane permeability and germination were examined with wheat leaf rust pathogen, both in vitro and in vivo. While wheat leaf rust was not controlled by prochloraz, electrolytic leakage and spore germination of P. recondita uredospore was the highest with the use of prochloraz among the eight fungicides tested. Prochloraz stimulated uredospore of P. recondita to germinate at a higher ratio. Although certain EBIs, such as hexaconazole, showed excellent control activity, their effects on uredospore membrane permeability and germination was much inferior to prochloraz. Therefore, results of this study suggest that effects of EBIs on membrane permeability and germination of uredospore are not always correlated with their disease control activity.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.44 no.4
• /
• pp.285-290
• /
• 2011

Caenorhabditis elegans undergoes a developmental molting process that involves a coordinated interplay among diverse intracellular pathways. Here, we investigated the functions of two fatty acid biosynthesis genes; pod-2, encoding acetyl-CoA carboxylase, and fasn-1, encoding fatty acid synthase, in the C. elegans molting process. Although both the pod-2 and fasn-1 genes were expressed at constant levels throughout C. elegans development, knockdown of the proteins encoded by these genes using RNA interference produced severe defects in triglyceride production, molting, and reproduction that were coupled to suppression of NAS-37, a metalloprotease. An assessment of the structure and integrity of the cuticle using a COL-19::GFP marker and Hoechst 33258 staining showed that downregulation of either pod-2 or fasn-1 impaired cuticle formation and disrupted the integrity of the cuticle and the hypodermal membrane.

• Animal Bioscience
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.166-176
• /
• 2022

Objective: Sperm is particularly susceptible to reactive oxygen species (ROS) stress. Glutathione (GSH) is an endogenous antioxidant that regulates sperm redox homeostasis. However, it is not clear whether boar sperm could utilize cysteine for synthesis GSH to protect sperm quality from ROS damage. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to elucidate the mechanism of how cysteine is involved in protecting boar sperm quality during liquid storage. Methods: Sperm motility, membrane integrity, lipid peroxidation, 4-hydroxyIlonenal (4-HNE) modifications, mitochondrial membrane potential, as well as the levels of ROS, GSH, and, ATP were evaluated. Moreover, the enzymes (GCLC: glutamate cysteine ligase; GSS: glutathione synthetase) that are involved in glutathione synthesis from cysteine precursor were detected by western blotting. Results: Compared to the control, addition of 1.25 mM cysteine to the liquid storage significantly increased boar sperm progressive motility, straight-line velocity, curvilinear velocity, beat-cross frequency, membrane integrity, mitochondrial membrane potential, ATP level, acrosome integrity, activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase, and GSH level, while reducing the ROS level, lipid peroxidation and 4-HNE modifications. It was also observed that the GCLC and GSS were expressed in boar sperm. Interestingly, when we used menadione to induce sperm with ROS stress, the menadione associated damages were observed to be reduced by the cysteine supplementation. Moreover, compared to the cysteine treatment, the γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase (γ-GCS) activity, GSH level, mitochondrial membrane potential, ATP level, membrane integrity and progressive motility in boar sperm were decreased by supplementing with an inhibitor of GSH synthesis, buthionine sulfoximine. Conclusion: These data suggest that boar sperm could biosynthesize the GSH from cysteine in vitro. Therefore, during storage, addition of cysteine improves boar sperm quality via enhancing the GSH synthesis to resist ROS stress.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.13 no.6
• /
• pp.933-942
• /
• 2003

CoenzymeQ is a quinone derivative with a long isoprenoid side chain. It transports electrons in the respiratory chain located in the inner mitochondrial membrane of eukaryotes and the plasma membrane of prokaryotes. It also functions as an antioxidant. Saccharomyces cerevisine coq mutants, that are deficient coenzyme Q biosynthesis fail to aerobically grow. They are not able to grow on non-fermentable carbon sources, such as glycerol, either The putative $coq^{-7}$ gene involved in coenzyme Q biosynthesis of Neurospora crassa was cloned and used for complementation of S. cerevisiae coq7 mutant. The predicted amino acid sequence of N. crassa COQ7 showed about 58% homology with Coq7p of S. cerevisiae. The growth rate of S. cerevisiae $coq^7$ mutant transformed with the N. crassa $coq^{-7}$ gene was restored to the wild-type level. The complemented 5. cerevisiae strain was able to grow with glycerol as a sole carbon source and showed less sensitivities to linolenic acid, a polyunsaturated fatty acid.

• Biomedical Science Letters
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.93-98
• /
• 2004

The effects of intravenously administered of high concentration of taurocholic acid (TCA) on $\alpha$-D- and $\beta$-D-mannosidase activities in rat liver lysosomes were studied. These liver lysosomal enzymes, and serum lysosomal $\alpha$-D- and $\beta$-D-mannosidase isozymes activities were determined in experimental rats with common bile duct ligation (CBDL). The liver lysosomal $\beta$-D-mannosidase activity as well as the serum lysosomal $\alpha$-D- and $\beta$-D-mannosidase isozymes activities were found to be significantly increased in the CBDL plus TCA injected group than in the control group such as CBDL alone group. However, the liver lysosomal $\alpha$-D-mannosidase activity was found to be significantly decreased in the CBDL plus TCA injected group. The above results suggest that TCA repress the biosynthesis of the lysosomal $\alpha$-D-mannosidase and induce the biosynthesis of the lysosomal $\beta$-D-mannosidase in the liver. And that the elevated serum lysosomal $\alpha$-D- and $\beta$-D-mannosidase isozymes activities are most likely due to increased hepatocyte membrane permeability caused by TCA mediated liver cell necrosis.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
• /
• 2003.11a
• /
• pp.87-87
• /
• 2003

Taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, $^{+}NH_3CH_2CH_2{SO_3}^{-}$) is endogenous $\beta$-amino acid which is essential in fetal nutrition and development and is present in abundant quantities in several tissues of fetus. In utero, taurine deficiency causes abnormal development and abnormal function of brain, retina, kidney and myocardium. Thus, transfer of taurine into fetus is important during embryonic development. Taurine transporter (TauT) has 12 hydrophobic membrane -spanning domains, which is typical of the $Na^{+}$- and $Cl^{-}$-dependent transporter gene family. Among the various biosynthetic enzymes of taurine, cysteine sulfinic acid decarboxylase (CSD) is the rate-limiting enzyme for biosynthesis of taurine. However, the enzyme activities of taurine biosynthesis are limited in early stage of embryonic development. To analyze the expression period of TauT and CSD during embryonic development, we have investigated the gene expression of TauT and CSD using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in mouse and chicken embryos. RT-PCR anaylsis revealed that both TauT and CSD mRNAs were already expressed at Day-4.5 in mouse embryo. In chicken whole embryo, TauT and CSD mRNAs began to appear on developing times of 48 hrs and 12 hrs, respectively. TauT mRNA was detected in the organs of heart, brain and eye of the day-3 chicken embryo. Our data show that TauT and CSD mRNAs were expressed in early stage of embryonic development.